Works Reconmend

This review is for using the product for a lithium-ion battery array, a.k.a LiFePO4 or Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP).First, if you are new at this, just think of a 'charge controller' as a battery charger. That's what they are. They charge the batteries in your solar system. A charge controller converts the voltage and current levels coming from the solar panels (or wind or other power source) to the ideal voltage and current levels required by the battery array. That's all a charge controller does. Everything else is bells and whistles. Now on with the review.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:I bought this EPEVER charge controller for a small auxiliary system I'm building up to run a heater. In short, although this charge controller has both pre-defined settings for LifePo4 cells, as well as a custom setting option, the voltage range for the custom setting was too limited for my application. Furthermore, I could not get the optional wireless ebox wifi remote to ever make a connection. The included printed manual was near worthless and tech support was pathetic.I have a 48 volt array. If I wish to fully charge the array I will set the voltage to 58.4 volts (3.65v per cell). If I don't need a full charge however and wish to extend battery life, I will charge to just 54.4 volts (3.4v per cell). Unfortunately the lowest voltage you can set the EPEVER controller for is 58 volts. So even with the custom option there is not much flexibility there.Furthermore, the "overvoltage disconnect" setting is hard coded at 64 volts, which is way way higher than I would ever desire. I would want an overvoltage disconnect to trigger at a much lower voltage to avoid cell damage, or worse, a fire. The EPEVER controller also has a bunch of programmable settings that don't make sense. Instead of the normal Bulk, Absorb and Float nomenclature, or the preferable Constant Current / Constant Voltage terminology associated with lithium batteries, the EPEVER uses no such terms. There is a "Boost" setting. Is that the same as absorb? Bulk? Who knows. And, there are a lot of 'low voltage disconnect' and reconnect settings that seem to apply more to inverters than battery chargers. My premium MidNite brand charge controller for my main solar system has no such settings. And of course there are zero explanations regarding these settings.Besides the optional wireless remote options, the EPEVER controller comes with a hard wired remote called the MT50 that is required to adjust most of the settings. The front panel iof the charge controller itself controls do very little. That's fine, but when my MT50 started acting up, EPEVER support informed me that my particular MT50 version was incompatible with the controller model I had purchased. Really? Given that the remote had come packaged with the controller I found that answer less than satisfactory. I mean, how many iterations would be required just to get tech support to acknowledge it was the correct remote, to then get the issue addressed? I have a life you know.SUMMARY:At first I though that this seemingly popular charge controller was a good choice because there are so many utube videos on it. But it turns out there are so many videos because there are so many owners struggling to get the controller's parameters set correctly. I finally found a utuber called "Arnold Solof" who posted a comparison of his EPEVER controllers to a Victron controller. The video makes clear the Victron unit was a better solution. Arnold noted that the Victron controllers are more expensive. HOWEVER, the Vicron's are sized and priced according to the amount of current supplied by the solar panels. There are so many models you only need to pay for what you need. For example I only needed a controller capable of 150 volts and 10 amps on the input side (solar panel connection). The only EPEVER model that met the requirement of 150v was a more expensive 60 amp unit. Overkill. Victron however has a 150 volt / 35 amp model that is naturally less expensive than the 60 amp EPEVER model. So I pocketed $100 and have a more reliable controller that still leaves room to grow my system if need be. What's not to love?

I’ve had this controller operating on 1000w of solar panels for my farm shop charging 12kwhr of batteries at 12v nominalNon stop for about two years now working perfect

I have 3 Of these charge controllers and one of them is now not working properly, The support that is in contact with me, seems to keep pointing to my Setup outside. The panels have been in the same place for the past few years. I also told them that if I connect one of the other charge controllers to those same panels it operates fine. So They had me Send pictures of my Panels to see where they are ( I have no trees or obstructions and the panels are facing south) I even went as far as to purchase a panel tester, and they are all in " like new shape" based on the results. The issue was reported on May 15th 2022. I will update my review based on the outcome of what Support does. The item is under warranty and should cover this defect. ....To give you an idea of what the charge controller is doing. All of a sudden, the charge controller is only showing 28 volts ( this is a 24 volt system) the current seems to go to 8+. If I disconnect the panels and reconnect them, the voltage goes up to 102v ( where it should be) then would go back to and stop at 28 volts. after a few times of "resetting" the panels, it will operate as it should. But if I do not catch this in the morning, I lose LOTS of energy because the charge controller is sitting at 28 Volts, and 8 amps (roughly) and that's only 224 watts, and my system is 1Kw!! I usually see between 800 watts or more and on cloudy days I would still get more than 224 watts.I will keep you all posted, but if you are having this problem please know you are not alone, I even found a few YouTube video's of people with the same exact issue ( they are few and far between) but it does show that is happens.UPDATE 05-19-22 Support/Warranty is not honored by this company, they treat customers as if they are their employees to try to figure out what is defective about their item. If an item is not working as described and the way the manual states, it is defective. for 11 Months, the item went from working really Well, to now needing to disconnect and reconnect my solar array everyday in order for the voltage to work properly. It sits at 28 volts when it should be102 Volts, If I do not catch it I lose a LOT of power.The picture I attached is what the controller reads each day before disconnecting and reconnecting the panels each day.***UPDATE 5-21-22*** The company is saying they will warranty the item, They state I need to pay for shipping because they and I quote "made no profit from the sale and are actually out $12" so the item needs to be sent to China and once they receive it, they will send out the replacement. I am really wary about this because that means I will be without the controller for a LONG time, and I worry that something will happen to go wrong somewhere is the process and me the customer would suffer. It seems that lessons learned, just go with the little bit more expensive option that has warranty info with a proven track record. I've not had to pay for warranty shipping before and I've never had a company ask me to pay via PayPal like they have done. (Within the first year of warranty). So keep in mind if your item fails, you will need to take photos of your entire setup, show video of the issue, even if you have taken all steps and documented as such to them informing them of what you have tried and what was tested, even if you have another charge controller that works fine from the same company on the same panels, they have tried to say several times that it was shading, or something else that you had already debunked on your own.So long story short, since I can not be without this controller for the long period of time it takes for an item to get to China, have them receive and review it, and then send me a replacement and nothing goes wrong it could take months the way things seem to be moving mail wise. So I will continue to use this defective unit, reset it each day, while I wait for my new purchase of a charge controller from a different company and be sure to read all reviews closely (well as many as I can).Sorry for the long review but I wanted everyone to know the potential problems you could run into purchasing an EPEVER product.

This is my 2nd 1. The 1st last about 2 years & conked out. Fortunately I got an extended warranty that reimbursed me. So I needed a back up in case my Victrons crapped out & the 2 I have of them died within a couple days of each other so this is getting used for now but I'm getting error msg's that aren't mentioned in the user manual & that frustrates me that I don't know what it means but it still functions despite those warnings. I just wish this company would make a more comprehensive manual & as you'll see in some reviews, these aren't tanks & a lot of issues mentioned after just a brief use period so get some insurance on these, you'll more than likely have to use it.